Everyone deserves access to food that is nutritious, culturally relevant and affordable. But when people have to choose between nutritious, familiar meals and monthly bills, it affects every aspect of their lives. That’s why Flavors of Our Community unites volunteers, nonprofit and corporate partners to remove barriers and make familiar, easy-to-prepare and loved meals accessible for more people living in the Greater Twin Cities.
Follow these 5 easy steps to volunteer at home today! When you volunteer at home, you help our community find food staples they know, love and can prepare at local food shelves.
Group projects can be tailored for teams of any size and hosted at your workplace or offsite. United Way provides pack lists, coordination support, and impact reporting. Projects are available year-round and typically run 1–2 hours. Email VolunteerUnited@gtcuw.org to learn how we can partner with you!
As food prices remain high, more of our neighbors than ever are visiting food shelves. In fact, visits to food shelves have been steadily rising in Minnesota for many years. In 2025, Minnesotans made 9 million visits to food shelves. And nonprofits managing food shelves have been put under immense stress as they adapt to federal funding cuts. Below are some common questions we receive.
The 6 cultures represented in the packs were determined in partnership with our food shelf partners as populations most highly impacted by historic and current systemic under resourcing. We continue to listen to our partners and reflect the current needs and requests of our community in the pack lists we put together.
In partnership with local nonprofits and food shelves, we created food packs containing ingredients that are highly needed and requested. These ingredients are familiar to the communities our community partners work with. When supplemented with fresh foods, food packs create dishes that align with cultural traditions and dietary needs. And when cooking isn’t an option, there are packs that ensure local families can still eat.
We are very connected to our nonprofit partners. Our packs are responsive and reflect what our partners say the people they’re working with ask for. We work together to ensure packs meet our community’s needs and represent the many cultures of people that live in the Twin Cities. This year, we’ve developed ready-to-eat and snack packs for families that are strained because of disruptions to SNAP benefits and Operation Metro Surge.
We partner with 10+ nonprofit partners who distribute the packs to their food shelves across the greater metro area. You can see the full list of our partners here.
We ask volunteers to assemble complete packs containing all items listed to the best of your ability. If items are inaccessible or missing, please include a note in your pack(s) listing each missing item.
Yes! You can sign up to assemble and donate packs at any time of year. Once you complete the sign up form a member of the Volunteer United team will be in touch to coordinate a drop-off at Greater Twin Cities United Way’s office (404 S 8th St, Minneapolis, MN 55404).
If you are with a company or group looking to host a volunteer event, contact VolunteerUnited@gtcuw.org to learn more about corporate volunteer opportunities available year-round!
The Karen (pronounced kuh-ren) are an ethnic group of people from Myanmar (formerly Burma). The Karen have resided in Burma for over two thousand years but fled to Thailand and other countries as refugees because of religious and ethnic persecution. More than 20,000 Karen people live in Minnesota, making it the largest Karen community in the country. You can learn more about the Karen from our community partner, Karen Organization of Minnesota and from Minnesota’s Department of Human Services.
Take action and make a difference!
Your support helps our whole community thrive by providing foods that are local, nutritious and meet cultural preferences. Your $16 donation purchases 4 meals for a family in the Twin Cities.
You can also purchase food items that are highly needed and requested at local food shelves from our Amazon Wish List.
Help us stock up local food shelves with meaningful and highly requested food, spices and ready-to-eat meals.
Flavors of Our Community is proudly supported by Old National Bank, our Volunteer at Home Partner.
